Heaven-and-Earth Dragnet (1)

[Warning!]

[You have not completed the clear objective!]

[Continued refusal to complete it may drastically change the difficulty!]

I slipped into the ranks of the Unorthodox Alliance warriors with Seo Yerim.

“Make way!”

Having placed first in the trial, I was now the heir with a red carpet laid out before me. The warriors obeyed meekly. Yerim and I raced down the path that parted like the Red Sea.

I tossed her a potion. She immediately gulped it down, and I did the same.

[You consume a Wind Strider Potion!]

[Movement speed increases by 30% for one hour!]

Not content with sharing Snowy’s Wind attribute, I had already swapped out all my equipment for pieces with movement-speed bonuses. They were low-level items, so the effects weren’t substantial, but they were far better than nothing.

‘Did it work?’

The three old masters were definitely tangled up in a fight. Judging by how the other two had gone wild the instant the Unorthodox Alliance leader caught the bead, they seemingly couldn’t distinguish the real thing from a fake by appearance alone.

Of course, they would discover the fake eventually. I didn’t know exactly when, so for now, we had to run like hell.

Yerim and I escaped the battlefield. The warriors didn’t find it strange even when we began fleeing into the distance. More precisely, they had no time to spare us a thought. The Martial Alliance and Demonic Cult were attacking furiously from both sides.

Then a message appeared.

[Unorthodox Alliance leader Baek Hakseong notices something amiss!]

‘How did he figure it out?’

They should look quite similar. Besides, he had never seen the real thing, so he couldn’t have told them apart that way.

‘Can you tell it’s fake once you actually hold it?’

That might be it.

“Run! Faster!”

Yerim’s face tightened as she picked up the pace, perhaps having seen the message too.

‘If that’s how it works...’

What would the Unorthodox Alliance leader do? Wouldn’t he shout that it was fake and hand it to his enemies to check for themselves?

Of course, the Heavenly Demon and Martial Alliance leader would suspect his motives. No one had ever offered up a fake before, and I was even the Alliance Leader’s son. It would be hard to imagine his own son giving him a counterfeit. They would probably see it as a trap to lure them in instead.

I sincerely hoped those two would keep up the good work.

Once we had put some distance between ourselves and the battlefield, I took shoes out of my inventory.

“Let’s change shoes.”

Yerim and I changed into the same kind of shoes the skeletons wore. Even the sizes were identical. Then I summoned nearly two thousand skeletons.

I took the supplies I had prepared out of my spatial ring: ordinary Common-grade leather bags. Each numbered bag was packed with dozens of kilograms of rocks and assorted junk.

“Put on your assigned bags and move just like we practiced!”

CLATTER!

The skeletons nodded. I had drilled them on these movements dozens of times for this very moment. Death Lord and Cedric’s title effects had dramatically improved their ability to learn. Following their rehearsed movements was no great challenge.

The skeletons circled around us, trampling all over our original footprints.

Being nothing but bones, skeletons were light by themselves. But add heavy equipment and bags full of junk, and they could easily weigh as much as a person. I had prepared the bags to match Yerim’s weight and mine exactly.

Even supreme masters wouldn’t be able to distinguish us by weight or footprint shape, at least.

“Scatter! Move!”

CLATTER!

The two thousand skeletons split into forty groups of fifty and spread out in every direction. Those in the rear trampled the footprints of those ahead. Naturally, the tracks became a complete mess. I looked at the last group.

“Follow us when we move. Step on our footprints.”

CLATTER!

Leaving the saluting skeletons behind, I ran off with Yerim. Identical tracks would lead in forty directions.

‘They’ll have a hell of a time tracking us.’

The two of us headed into the forest.

* * *

Baek Hakseong seethed with rage. No matter how often he shouted that it was fake, the two old monsters wouldn’t listen.

‘Damn it!’

Of course, the easiest solution would be to throw the bead far away. But he couldn’t bring himself to do it. There was still that lingering doubt.

What if the teaching handed down to him had been false? Or what if its contents had changed slightly over the generations? It wasn’t entirely impossible. In that case, he would be throwing away a treasure he had actually obtained. He couldn’t dismiss even that slim possibility. The clue to ascension was that precious.

Just then, an elder he had sent to locate Baek Socheon hurried over.

“Alliance Leader! They say the Fifth Young Master has left the battlefield!”

GRIND!

He bit hard into his lip. Hiding behind the main force was understandable, but leaving it altogether...

That erased the last possibility that this bead might be genuine.

Why would the boy run if he had offered up the real thing? Wealth and glory were waiting right before him.

“Damn it!”

The Unorthodox Alliance leader flung away the cloth-wrapped bead. At the sight, the two masters lunged for it, their eyes wild.

As luck would have it, the bead was closer to the Heavenly Demon, allowing him to catch it. The instant it entered his hand, Heavenly Demon Gu Yangcheon’s face went rigid.

“It’s fake!”

“... What?”

The Martial Alliance leader faltered.

He had sensed something was wrong when the Unorthodox Alliance leader threw the bead away. But now even the Heavenly Demon was saying that? The likelihood that it truly was a fake had just risen. By a great deal.

“Catch!”

Gu Yangcheon pulled the bead from its wrapping and tossed it to the Martial Alliance leader, fuming. The moment the man caught it, his face twisted into a vicious scowl. Then he slammed it into the ground.

CRACK!

The bead shattered without resistance. It was nothing but junk made to look convincing.

Both men turned their gazes on Baek Hakseong. Just how badly had he raised his son for the boy to screw over his own father? Their mocking eyes swept over him.

The silence was brief.

“Enough! Everyone, stop fighting!”

Gu Yangcheon’s shout silenced the battlefield in an instant.

Weapons still in hand, the warriors stared at the three old men in bewilderment. Paying them no heed, the three glared at one another.

Clearly, they had to pursue Baek Socheon. The question was whether to cooperate. With all three factions working together, they could capture him quickly, but that would raise the issue of who owned the prize of ascension. Acting separately, on the other hand, would be less efficient, but offered a chance to claim everything.

Then a strange sight appeared before their eyes.

[Warning!]

[‘Baek Socheon’ and ‘Choi Aengaeng’ are attempting to escape!]

[Once they advance beyond a certain point, they will escape this stage!]

All three faces stiffened. These words were very familiar. Naturally so: they were part of the teachings passed down to the head of each faction. Obtaining the clue to ascension would make mysterious words much like these appear before their eyes.

“We’ll settle ownership later. For now, we need to join forces.”

“... Agreed. We can’t let that bastard and bitch escape.”

“... Very well.”

The three factions immediately began to move. Baek Socheon and Choi Aengaeng—they had to capture those two at all costs.

* * *

[Heavenly Demon Gu Yangcheon notices something amiss!]

[Martial Alliance leader Yang Jeonghak notices something amiss!]

[The gate’s difficulty changes to A+, ‘Heaven-and-Earth Dragnet’!]

[Head toward the destination!]

A map appeared before my eyes, with a green dot marked far in the distance.

‘Is that the destination?’

Judging by the distance, we would have to run like hell for roughly five days.

I looked at Yerim. She had told me she received a clear message, but in the end, she had stayed with me instead of leaving. Now the difficulty had changed. That meant she couldn’t leave until we completed the new clear objective. I didn’t know why she had stayed, but she had certainly improved my chances of survival.

“I’ll thank you once we’re out.”

“Don’t bother. I stayed for the clear rewards too.”

I nodded.

Heaven-and-Earth Dragnet. Even the name sounded brutal. I immediately swallowed the elixir I had been saving.

[You consume a Sword Shadow Pill!]

[All stats increase by 10!]

“Let’s go. Before they catch up.”

We had gained some distance, but not a meaningful lead. Right now, we had to focus on running.

* * *

Kim Minwoo and Seo Yerim were awakeners known not only in Korea, but overseas as well. And the latest incident was sensational: another member of a chaebol family had maliciously shoved Minwoo into a gate, and the Sword Phoenix had leaped in to rescue him. It would have been stranger if the media hadn’t gone wild.

It was now the third week since the two entered the gate. Despite the time that had passed, interest was growing more explosive by the day. Even foreign broadcasters were covering the story.

—Where’d all the guys who said they’d both be dead in two days go? lol They’ve already lasted three weeks.

—Yeah, and all they’ll do is chicken out to the midway zone lol

—But isn’t three weeks more than enough time to find the midway zone? The stage can’t be that big. Why aren’t they coming out...?

—Who knows. They might just be hiding in a corner burning through their food.

—So on a gate’s first attempt, nobody knows what’s inside? There’s no set format or anything?

—They’re literally explaining it on TV right now lol It’s all random. Could be a gate where you follow a story, could be one where you just kill mobs. The recommended party size is high because nobody knows lol

—Yep. Just think of it like a hidden gate. Stage layout, clear objectives, mechanics—it’s all random.

—How much longer do you think they’ll last?

—Who knows. Kim Minwoo might already be dead. Seems like the Sword Phoenix is hanging in there, at least?

—Seriously, why go through all that shit to save him? Am I the only one who doesn’t get it?

—Maybe they’ve got something going on lol

—Nah. The Sword Phoenix fucking hated Kim Minwoo. Anyone in the know would know that.

—Then why go save him? lol

—Must be because of the Sword Immortal. The old man was laying it on thick, saying his new S-rank record was all thanks to Kim Minwoo lol

—Yeah, that’s what I think too. The Sword Phoenix really loves her grandpa. Like, an unhealthy amount. Probably went to save him because of that.

—Honestly, I know I shouldn’t say this, but if they can’t make it, couldn’t they just hurry up and die? Drag this out and the gate’s gonna break.

—Don’t you just have to clear a B-rank within two months? It hasn’t even been one month. What the hell, you psycho bastard.

—We can’t lose the Sword Phoenix :’( We can’t lose the Sword Phoenix :’( We can’t lose the Sword Phoenix :’(

—Stop freaking out. She doesn’t need to clear it, just reach the midway zone. You think the Sword Phoenix can’t do that? Once she’s out, a guild raid team should clear it in no time.

Most public opinion followed the same pattern. Kim Minwoo was probably dead. The Sword Phoenix would still be holding on. After three weeks, she would have grown accustomed to the gate. As an awakener who surpassed A-rank, she might at least be able to escape. The experts on television had been voicing similar views.

—Huh? Wait. What’s that? Don’t tell me...

The reporters broadcasting live outside the gate began to murmur. An enormous amount of mana was gathering over the gate, which had remained quiet and unresponsive until now. This was completely different from the glow that appeared when someone emerged after clearing it.

A reporter gripped the microphone with trembling hands and spoke.

“W-we’ve just received word from the Observation Department that the gate’s difficulty has changed. New measurements show it is now an A-rank gate...”

—?

—??

—???

—????

—What? Did they measure it wrong?

—Nah. Difficulty changes like that do happen sometimes. Guess they messed something up inside?

—So it changed to A+ difficulty?

—Looks like it?

—What usually happens when that happens?

—Sometimes you choose to change the difficulty, sometimes you just get screwed by bad luck... Probably the latter?

—Yeah. Looks like bad luck. No way they’d change the difficulty with only two people in there. They’re screwed.

—Guys, is there seriously no chance they can escape now?